Damian Lillard and Terry Stotts shared a long working relationship from 2012 to 2021, as Stotts was Lillard’s head coach with the Portland Trail Blazers. Stotts left the team in acrimonious circumstances, and fans now think that Lillard’s arrival in Milwaukee has forced the coach to leave the NBA once again.
Stotts took two years off the NBA after his near-decade-long stint with the Blazers, returning to the coaching world by becoming an assistant to a rookie head coach, Adrian Griffin. Many coaches with that experience likely wait for a head coaching opportunity. Still, Stotts took the decision to become an assistant under Griffin as he looks to revamp the Milwaukee Bucks.
Ultimately, it seems like a falling out with Griffin prompted Stotts to leave. Regardless, fans are already spinning theories that Stotts left the Blazers because of Lillard.
Fans Think Damian Lillard Is Responsible For This
Fans on social media are convinced that Lillard’s arrival on the Bucks complicated Stotts’ future with the franchise given their history.
They got Dame and he got flashbacks.
— Curt ☘️ (@CelticsCurt) October 19, 2023
One fan openly said Lillard is directly responsible for Stotts already leaving the Bucks.
Dame got him fired again
— 𓂆 adel🇾🇪🔻 (@_abuqusay) October 19, 2023
More fans pushed this conspiracy theory, which is believable given what happened in Portland the year Stotts left the franchise.
dame really ran him out of town smh
— dean 🦂 (@DeanScorpion_) October 19, 2023
Fans joked about how Dame got upset at the sight of Stotts when he went to the Bucks training facility for the first time.
Dame when he walked in the facility and saw terry stotts pic.twitter.com/HYMhBVQ155
— oddCouple (@oddCouplemusic) October 19, 2023
The fan continued mocking Lillard for this.
Lillard said get his ass outta here😭
— JJ (@JJH23) October 19, 2023
Everyone seems pretty sure that Lillard was the reason behind Stotts being pushed out of the franchise.
Dame said GET EM OUT
— Charlie Quinn (@CharlieQuinnMMA) October 19, 2023
Fans compared Dame time with ‘Stotts Time’.
Dame Time is not Stotts time
— CAGEY 🔥🎤📻 (@CageyProlific) October 19, 2023
Lillard had been quite excited to work with Stotts once again and have that familiarity with him to help him better adjust to the Bucks. With him gone, the team will need to find a similarly adept mind to keep a hold on their offensive strategy this season. Dame Ball won’t be the answer, and the Bucks need to fix this soon unless they realize veteran assistant coaches in the NBA may not like working with their new head coach.
The Real Reason Why Terry Stotts Resigned
The Athletic has reported that Stotts left the franchise over arguments with head coach Adrian Griffin. This reached a boiling point during their practice on Tuesday, where Griffin allegedly yelled at Stotts in front of the entire team when he tried to work with players to iron out details of their offensive strategy.
“Stotts went in the opposite direction of the coaches’ huddle and instead started walking toward players to discuss the offense… Griffin called to Stotts to join the coaching huddle. When Stotts asked for some time with the players, Griffin yelled for Stotts to join the coaches’ huddle. The incident occurred in front of the entire team… Around the situation on Thursday, there were two perspectives surrounding Stotts’ resignation: His potential difficulty adapting to a bench role under Griffin after more than a decade as a head coach, and the other being a certain treatment and level of respect that needed to be shown to someone with Stotts’ pedigree.”
If this is true, the Bucks have lost a very talented mind. His familiarity with Lillard would’ve allowed the Bucks to transition to a new offense, as he could’ve been the bridge that melds Lillard’s style, which he’s intimately familiar with, onto the Bucks that have played a defense-heavy brand of basketball over the last few seasons.
As far as what’s been reported until now, there is no reason to assume Lillard was even remotely responsible for Stotts’ decision.
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